Elon Musk Hit No 1 On the Reading Charts

Meet Elon Musk: 

The rule-breaking visionary who took us to the electric vehicle, private space exploration, and AI era—and even conquered Twitter. 

From a bullied kid in South Africa to the richest man on Earth, discover the emotional scars, dramatic mindset, and relentless ambition that led to his epic success. 

In a revealing two-year journey with Isaacson, this is the inside story of triumphs, turmoil, and the demons that fuel innovation.

He was a rule-breaking visionary who helped lead the world into the era of electric cars, private space exploration, and artificial intelligence. 

Elon Musk 

Bullies often beat up Elon Musk when he was a child in South Africa. A group of people pushed him down some concrete steps and kicked him so hard that his face swelled up into a ball. He spent a week in the hospital. The mental scars his father, an engineer, rogue, and charismatic fantasist, left on him were much worse than the physical ones.

His father had a lasting effect on his mind. He grew up to be a tough but sensitive man-child who had sudden Jekyll-and-Hyde mood swings. He had a very high risk tolerance, a need for drama, an epic sense of mission, and a maniacal intensity that was cruel and sometimes destructive.

Musk talked about his need to make trouble at the start of 2022, after a year in which SpaceX sent thirty-one rockets into space, 

Tesla sold a million cars, and he became the richest person in the world. "I need to stop thinking in terms of crises, which is how I've been thinking for about fourteen years, or maybe even most of my life," he said.

It wasn't a New Year's resolution; it was just a sad statement.

He said it while secretly buying Twitter shares, which is the best place to play in the world. He thought about being picked on at school every time he was feeling down over the years. He could now take over the playground.

Isaacson hung out with Musk for two years, going to meetings and walking through his plants with him and interviewing him, his family, friends, coworkers, and enemies for hours on end. Because of this, the inside story is very revealing and full of amazing stories of successes and tragedies.